physics

John M. Deutch

John M. Deutch is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand John M. Deutch rather than just read about it. In short: John Mark Deutch (born July 27, 1938) is an American civil servant and physical chemist. He was the United States Deputy Secretary of Defense from 1994 to 1995 and Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) from May 10, 1995, until December 15, 1996.

Key takeaways

John M. Deutch belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect John M. Deutch to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of John M. Deutch from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

John Mark Deutch (born July 27, 1938) is an American civil servant and physical chemist. He was the United States Deputy Secretary of Defense from 1994 to 1995 and Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) from May 10, 1995, until December 15, 1996. He is an emeritus Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and serves on the boards of directors of Citigroup, Cummins, Raytheon, and Schlumberger. Deutch is also a member of the Trilateral Commission.

Background Deutch was born in Brussels, Belgium, the son of Rachel Felicia (Fischer) and Michael Joseph Deutch. He is of Russian Jewish heritage, and became a United States citizen in 1945. He graduated from the Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C. and earned a bachelor's degree in history and economics from Amherst College. In 1961, Deutch earned a Master of Science degree in chemical engineering and, in 1966, he earned a PhD in chemistry, both from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He holds honorary degrees from Amherst College, University of Massachusetts Lowell, and Northeastern University. From 1977 to 1980, he served in several positions at the United States Department of Energy (DOE), including as director of energy research, acting assistant secretary for energy technology, and undersecretary of the department. In 1978, Deutch published two physical chemistry papers (in Combustion and Flame, 1978, vol 231 pp. 215–221 and 223-229) on modeling the mechanism of the fuel/air mixture. He served as the provost of MIT from 1985 to 1990. As MIT's dean of science and provost, Deutch oversaw the disbanding of the department of applied biological sciences, including its toxicology faculty. Furthermore, in December 2012, he was elected to the Board of Trustees for the MIT-Russia Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology.

Director of Central Intelligence tenure In 1995, President Bill Clinton appointed him Director of Central Intelligence. As Deutch was initially reluctant to accept the appointment, the position was conferred with Cabinet rank, a prerequisite ultimately retained by successor George Tenet through the end of the Clinton administration. At the time of his appointment, The New York Times quoted activist Noam Chomsky, a prominent critic of U.S. foreign policy and of the CIA, as saying, "He has more honesty and integrity than anyone I've ever met in academic life, or any other life... If somebody's got to be running the C.I.A., I'm glad it's him." As head of the CIA, Deutch continued the policy of his predecessor R. James Woolsey to declassify records pertaining to U.S. covert operations during the Cold War. In 1996, Deutch took the unusual step of traveling to Locke High School in Los Angeles to address reports that the CIA had facilitated the introduction of crack cocaine into Los Angeles. Speaking to a hostile crowd, Deutch denied any connection between the CIA and cocaine traffic in Los Angeles and vowed to open an investigation. The meeting was prompted by allegations published by journalist Gary Webb that connected the CIA to the California cocaine trade and trafficker Danilo Blandón. Deutch fell out of favor with the Clinton administration because of public testimony he gave to Congress on Iraq. Specifically, Deutch testified that Saddam Hussein was stronger than he had been four years earlier and that the CIA might never be able to remedy the issue. After he won reelection, Clinton replaced Deutch.

Deutch left the CIA on December 15, 1996. Soon after, it was revealed that several of his laptop computers contained classified information wrongfully labeled as unclassified. In January 1997, the CIA began a formal security investigation of the matter. Senior management at CIA declined to fully pursue the security breach. Over two years after his departure, the matter was referred to the Department of Justice, where Attorney General Janet Reno declined prosecution. She did, however, recommend an investigation to determine whether Deutch should retain his security clearance. Deutch had agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor for mishandling government secrets on January 19, 2001, but President Clinton pardoned him on his last day in office, two days before the Justice Department could file the case against him.

Board memberships and fellowships Deutch was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1978 and to the American Philosophical Society in 2007. He has been a member of the National Petroleum Council since 2008 and the Secretary of DOE Energy Advisory Board since 2010. In 1988, Deutch was elected as a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. He has served as a Trustee at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

See also List of people pardoned or granted clemency by the president of the United States

Sources

External links Deutch's MIT Biography War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Reagan's Shield: An Interview with John Deutch, WGBH December 1987 "Nora Slatkin's Mission Impossible: The CIA," BusinessWeek Feb. 26, 1996 — About the executive director hired by Deutch to improve diversity at the CIA. Appearances on C-SPAN

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with John M. Deutch

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what John M. Deutch claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to John M. Deutch before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about John M. Deutch ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of John M. Deutch

In research: John M. Deutch appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses John M. Deutch in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: John M. Deutch is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1938 births, American people of Russian-Jewish descent, American physical chemists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for John M. Deutch outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study John M. Deutch in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what John M. Deutch means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain John M. Deutch out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is John M. Deutch in simple terms?

Why does John M. Deutch matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study John M. Deutch?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on John M. Deutch.